Abortion insurance coverage ban passes Georgia General Assembly

Pro-life activists participate in the annual March for Life as they march up the Capitol Hill on Constitution Avenue January 22, 2014 in Washington, DC.

Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images

A bill ensuring that public employee health care plans and benefits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare) don't include funding for abortion passed Georgia Assembly today, after both chambers agreed on changes to Senate Bill 98 made in committee.

S.B. 98 includes only one exception in the coverage ban, and that's in case of "medical emergency" when it comes to mother's well being. The bill passed 105-64 in the House and 36-18 in the Senate.

"No abortion coverage shall be provided by a qualified health plan offered within the State of Georgia through a state exchange created pursuant to the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as amended by the federal Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, and regulations or guidance issued under those acts, except in the case of medical emergency."

S.B. 98 bans abortion coverage only for state employees, it does not affect overall coverage for private individuals under Obamacare.

Georgia Republicans lobbied for the ban to ensure that taxpayers' money is not used to cover abortions, since many in the Peach State are pro-life for religious reasons.

Georgia Democrats stood against the ban, calling it an attack on women's access to healthcare.

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Ewa Kochanska, a transfer from Warsaw, Poland, works as a freelance journalist and photographer in Atlanta, Georgia. Hailing from a politically volatile Central Europe, Kochanska easily picks up on governmental shenanigans that might otherwise go unnoticed. Contact her at ekochanska@columnist.com.